Towel-supply device.



I. L. PARK.

TOWEL SUPPLY DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1'909.

Patented Dec. 20, 1910;

4 SHEBTB-SHEET 1.

mumm

Ira Park,

I. L. PARK.

TOWEL SUPPLY DEVICE.

APPLICATION nun APR. 8, 1909.

Patented Dec.'20, 1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

lflll llllliililllllliilll llll I. L. PARK. TOWEL SUPPLY DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED APR. 8, 1909.

Patented Dec.20,1910.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

'IWve/nZbr': I Ira L. Park,

Patented Dec. 20, 1910.

4 SHEETS-11313 4.

[fl/120211121; I ma L Pa r10,

To all whom it may concern:

' STATES.

PATENT oFFIoE;

IRA I. PARK, OF FAIRFAX COUNTY, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF {DO CARRIE B.

I MORRIS, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

TOWEL-S PPLY mavro n.

Be it known that I, IRA L. PARK, citizen f the United States, residing in Fairfax county, Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Towel-Supply Devices, of which the following is aspecification.

My invention relates to coin controlled apparatus for supplying towels or a length of towel, and it consists in the features and combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter (described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a front view of an apparatus embodying my invention; Fig. 1 isadetail View of treadle operating mechanism. Fig. 2 is an enlarged detail front view with the front wall of the apparatus omitted; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional vi-ew substantially'on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional viewjsubstantially on the line'44 of Fig. 2;-Fig.f5 is a vertical sectional view are views of av paratus.

substantiallyon the line 5 g 5 of Fig. 2 Fig. 6 is a sectional planview substantially on the line t -'6 of Fig. 2; and Figs. 7 and 8 The apparatus comprises a casing l hav ing within 'the'same a pair of rollers 2; 2,

I which are turned when the apparatus is operated by the introduction of a coin to eject from the casing a suflicient'length of towel for use by one person. .The towel is rolled or'stored uponia roller 3 journaled inthe casing, and the used portion of the towel is re-wound or stored upon a roller t also jiournaled within the casing, these rolls 3 are operated through suitable gearingc'onand 4 being arranged one above the other, as. shown in Fig. 5. The discharge rollers 2 sisting of the gear 5 on"the shaft. of one of. therollers', and agear 6 fixed to. ashaft-K journaled in the casing. The frollers are geared together through gears 8 andflfby; which they move in unison todischarge the towel from the casing. The gea176 has connected therewith a ratchet; wheel 10 -"by" means of pins 11,.and this ratchet wheel is jengaged by a pawl 1'2-car-riedb n arm 13 fixed to a gear wheel rematch isflloose on the shaft- 7 and isengaged arack bar e 15. having vertical sliding movement and modified form of the 1113- guided by the said gear and-by guide rollers Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Dec, 20; ii[910. I Application filed April 8, 1909. Serial No. 488,777.

1 .16, the flanges of which enter a groove in the front face of the rack bar 15. ,This vertically movable rack bar moves throu gh an opening 17 in the bottom of the casing, and' is connected at times, through a rod 22 with a rod 18 which, in turn, is connected with a treadle -19 pivoted to a suitable bracket '20 secured to the wall or to the floor, the treadle being normally raised by aspring 21 arranged as shown in Fig. 1. For operating the rack bar, I provide coin controlled mechanism consisting of the vertically moving bar 22 guided by an idler 23 loose on the shaft 7, and having its flange entering a groove or channel in the slide bar 22, and by an idler or roller 24, the flange of which engages a second groove on the front face of the slide bar. This slide bar carries a pawl 25 pivoted thereto. The normal position of this slide bar is shown in Figs. 3 and 4, with thepawl located adjacent to the inner discharge end of a coin chute 26, so that, when thecoin indicated in dotted lines at 27 is introduced, downward pressure on the treadle will cause the pawl 25 to'contact with the edge ofthe coin, and thus the up'perend' of this pawl will be swung inwardly or rear wardly to engagea pin 28 on the rack bar 15, so thatthe continued movement-of the slide 22' will carry the rack bar 15 down with it, and thus turn the ar wheel '14:, and through the arm 13an pawl 12, the ratchet wheel 10 will be operated, carrying with it the gear 6, and this gear, throughthe gearing 5, 8 and 9, will turn the rolls'2, 2, in the proper direction to deliver a length of towel from the casing through the discharge opening 29 in. the lower part thereof, though I do not'limitmyself to this particular location'of thev discharge opening. .3 Normally, the gearing just described is held -locked, against movement by a pawlor detent BO pivoted'to the frame plate '31 at shaft 7. This lock will prevent the towel from being drawn out by hand byg any unauthorized person exertingpressure directly thereon. As soon, however, a's'theslide 22 begins to operate after the introduction of a proper coin, this lock is released, so that thegearing and the rollers 2, 2, are free to I be operated. For this purpose the shaft 25 upon which the coin controlled pawl 25 is mounted, extends through the slide 22', and upon the end thereof is fixed an arm 35, and

this arm is provided with a projection 36.

' the coin and is swung rearwardly, the tail piece or arm will effect the release of the detent 30 from the ratchet disk 34, and this look being thus released, the continued movement of the slide 22 will draw upon the rackv bar 15 and, through the described connections, the train'of gearing will be operated to discharge the towel from the casing.

Means are provided for retracting the used portion of the towel into the casing as soon as the urchaser or person who has operated the evice is through using the exposed or ejected portion of the towel. This restorin or retractin mechanism includes the win ing roller 4 a ove described, which roller is operated through gearin 38, 39, 40, 41, from mechanism located on t e shaft 42. This mechanism includes a drum 43 loosely mounted on said shaft, and ceive chains 44, 45. The chain 45 is attached at 46 to the drum, and the chain 44 at 47. The other endof the chain 45 is attached to the rack bar at 49, and the other end of the chain 44 is attached to a spring 50 connected to the casing at 51.

The gear 41 is fixed on the shaft 42. and

. it is provided with a ratchet wheel 52 enthis gear -cated also in Fi gage by a pawl 53 on an arm 54 secured to and moving with the loose drum 43. The shaft 42 has also fixed thereto a ratchet wheel 55 engaged by a detent 56 on the frame plate, as shown in Fig. 2, and as indig. 3. Normally, the gear wheel 41 is free, but as soon as the apparatus is operated to discharge a length of towel therefrom, a detent 57 is thrown into engagement with the gear wheel 41' to hold it against movement. 7 This detent is carried by anarm 58 depending from an arm 59 pivoted to the frame plate at 60. It is nor:

mally held up out of connection with thegear 41 by a rod 61 forming an extension of the rack bar 15, the said rod bearing on the under side of the lever or frame As.

soon, however, as the rack bar begins to de scend, the detent 57 is pulled downwardly to engage the gear 41 by means of a spring connection 62 between the rack bar and the frame or lever 59, the ing the rod 61, as shown in Fig; 3. The downward movement of the rack bar 'will draw upon the chain 45 and turn the drum 43. In this action the pawl 53 carried by the arm 54 secured to the drum, will move rearwardly and idly over the teeth of the ratchet 52 secured to the gear wheel 41, and andrthe train of gears leading therefrom to the re-winding or retracting roller for the wet towel will not be operated.

grooved to resaid spring sur1'ound-' placed under tension, and this tension will have been applied to the gearing 41, 40, 39.

38, through the pawl '53, the arm 54, and the a ratchet 52, but this tension will not be effective to rotate this train of gearing until after the detent 57 has been released from the gear 41, and this release will not take place until the user or purchaser has completed his use of the exposed length of towel and has removed his foot from the treadle 19, whereupon the spring 21 will raise the bar 22 causing apin 22 thereon to raise the rack bar 15 and, in the final upward movement thereof, the rod 61 will strike the frame or lever 59, raising the detent 57 from the gear wheel 41, thus allowing the s ring 50 to exert its force through the loose rum, the arm 54 and awl53 to turn the ratchet 52, and with it the gear 41 and the train "of gearing leading to the retracting or wet roll for drawing the used portion of the towel into the casing for storage therein.

I provide at 64 in the coin chute a in designed to prevent the coin from slipping back in the chute when the pressure comes thereon from engagement with the coin.

I provide, in connection with the ap aratus above described, an advertising evice consisting of a chain of signs or advertisethrough the lever 67, will operate the chain 7 .of si s to expose one of them at the opening 72. his advertising apparatus may be 0perated without the necessity of introducing a coin. The towel is held on the rollers by a bail consisting of the arms 73 pivoted to the rollers and having the bar 74 extending between them and adapted to lie in the groove 75 of the rollers. The rollers have spring.

bearings 76 at one end consisting of a casing containingja plunger 77 having a conical point to en go a corresponding socket in the end of t e roller, a spring 78 being arranged in the casing and entering slightly the enlarged head 79 of the bearing pin 77. The storage roll 3 for the dry towel is perfectly free in its bearings, whereas the'storage roll 4 for the wet, towel is connected rigidly with the shaft 38 of the gear 38, that is, so as to turn therewith. F or this purpose Y 5 the said shaft has a disk 80 having pins 81 entering sockets in the end of the roller. The disk also has a central conical bearing pin 82. The coins from the coin chute fall into a receptacle .84 after they have performed their service. I

In Figs. 7 and 8 I show a modified form of my invention in which, instead of employing a foot lever and requiring the user to hold this down while he is using the towel, I

- employ a timing arrangement which will allow the towel to remain ejectedfor a specified time, at the expiration of which the tim ing arrangement will automatically cause the operation of the retracting or re-winding roller for retracting the exposed length of towel into the case. In this form, instead of employing .the reciprocating Slide 22 as the initial driving element, I employ a disk 22 fixed on a shaft 7 and this shaft is operated in any suitable manner, as by a handle 19.

'' gear wheel 6 loose on the'shaft 7, the gears 8 and 9- will be operatedto rotate the eject-- ing rolls 2 to discharge the towel from the casing. I provide, in this-form also, means for initially locating the gearing so that it will be impossible for anyone to operate'the device without introducing a coin, and for this purpose I employ the locking disk 34' engaged by a detent 30f pivoted at 32 to the frame plate 31', This lock isreleased when a coin is introduced, and the handle 19 is turned by a projection 36' on the tail piece of the pawl 25 operating an arm a, which arm. is attached to a shaft a having thereon a second arm 'whichengages a pm 37' on the detent 30, so that, as soon as the coin is will be released.

nism under tension, I e'inplo fnding mechaa spring 50 introduced and the handle sulned, the look In order to place the reconnected bya chain44' 10]), drhm 43 loose on a shaft 42' in a;.nla nnersubstantially --similar to that;before described, "the said drum being connected b ya qhain. 45 with themain drive:- throng the 14 to which the lower endjof the chain 45' is con- 'nected." 'On the same shaft 42' with the through-gearing similar-to thatbefore describeehf, is connected [with j the re winding roller. The gear 41" has fixed-1y connected therewith a ratchet wheelfl52' engaged by a pawl 53" o'n'fa pawl carrier; 54? connectedwith the drum 43.

ratchet wheel 55' is fixed-which is'norlnally engaged by a detent 56 on the frame 31. As soon as the device is -operated,'a detent 57 is thrown into connection with the retracting gear 41', the said detent being carried by a frame-59 pivoted at 60 .to the main frame. This detent is normally held raised from the retracting gear-41 by an arm 61 of a lever 85 mounted on a shaft 86 journaled in the frame. This lever has con-' nected thereto a rod 87, the lower end of which is provided with a roller 88 to be engaged and lifted by a cam 89 on the drum l4, and when so lifted upon the operation of the handle 19 and the rotation of the drum, the lever 85 will be turned to throw down the arm 61' and allow the detent 57 to engage the retracting gear ll and hold it in position while the spring 50 is being strained and while the pawl 53' is running back over the ratchet 52 to get in position thereon for advancing the said pawl and ratchet, together with the gear wheel, when the detent 57 is released and the spring 50 is allowed to exert its force.

For determining the interval of time between the ejection of the length of towel and n I u n s its retraction, I provide atnnlng apparatus whichwill retard. the return of the lever 85 to the normal position shown in Fig. 7.

This lever is provided with a weight 88 which will return the lever, but its return will be retarded by a' clockwork mechanism illustrated generally in Fig. 7 which clockwork mechanism may be'of any suitable construction, the one shown being representative of any device suitable for the purpose.

Any sort of retarding mechanism may be employed in place of the clockwork mecha nism shown, such, for instance, as a fan. It will require a definite length of time for the lever 85 to fall from its elevated position shown' in dotted lines to that shown in full lines, and during this time the length of towel will remain ejected for use. As soon, however, as the weighted lever 85 returns to normal position, the arm 61 will strike and lift the frame 59, thus elevating the detent 57 from the gear41 and allowing said gear to be fully under the influence of the spring 50', the force of which will be a'ppliedto thev retracting gear 41th1'ough the pawl and ratchet described thus rotating this A gear and re-winding or retracting the length of.

towelinto, the case. The cam 89'is'pivoted$ a the forward 'movement,' it passes Y under the roller 88 and liftsthe same, but,

\ on the backward movement, it-slips over the said rollerl I do not limit myself to redrawing the .towelinto the same compartment with the -main storage roller, nor do I wish tolilnit myselfto'rollers asfthe means of storing the towels, nor to coin operated mechanism, nor tothe particular forms of mechanism 1llus trated for carrying out my invention, as these may be varied without departing from the spirit thereof.

I place a finder consisting of a spring pin a," and a toothed wheel 6 in connection with the advertising mechanism, as shown in Fig. 5, so as to center the advertising cards in relation to the display opening 72. I employ a detent consisting of a spring member a to bear upon the towel roll for preventing undue movement thereof.

I do not wish to limit myself to the use of coin-freed mechanism in connection with the means for making the towel protrude or withdrawing it. An important advantage arises from the use of my invention in that the towel is used systematically by exposing successive portions thereof, and this advantage accrues whether coin-freed mechanism is employed or any other mechanism which will serve the purpose of projecting a portion of the towel and then withdrawing it.

I claim as my invention 1. A towel supply device consisting of a casing a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, a portion of the towel protrude from the casing, and retracting or withdrawing means operative while inoperative for restoring the ejected portion of the towel and placing out of service the entire towel, substantially as described.

2. In combination a casing, a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, eject ing means for making a portion of the towel protrude from the casing in the form of a loop, and means operative while the ejecting means is inoperative for withdrawing the towel from its point of use and placing out of service theentire towel, substantially as described.

3. In combination a casing, a pair of rollers having the ends of the towel attached thereto, ejecting rollers tor making intermediate portions of the towel rotrude from the casing, and automatica ly operating means for turning one of the rollers connected with the end of the towel afterthe period of use is over, said automatic means ejected for retractim stantially as describe v 4. In combination with a casing, a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, a pair of ejecting rollers to eject suethe said towel, sub- "cessive portions of the continuous towel from the casing, a storage roller for the towel, and automatically operating means for withdrawing the towel from use while the ejecting rollers remain inoperative, sub

I stantially as described.

7. In combination in a towel supply, eject-' ing means, retracting means, tension means for the retracting means for operating the same after the towel has been used, said tenmeans, detent ejecting means for making the ejecting means is elng set for operation when the towel is,

sion means being normally inoperative, means for rendering the said tension means active by the operation of the towel ejecting means for the retracting means, and releasing means foi the detent means whereby the retracting means is placed under the influence of the tension means to retract the towel, substantially as described.

6. In combination a casing, towel ejecting means for ejecting the towel beyond the casing, towel retracting means to draw the exposed part back within the casing, and a power device for the retracting means with means for rendering the same active after a period ofuse of the towel, substantially as described. I

7. In combination a casing, a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, ejecting means for ejecting the towel in sections beyond the casing, towel retracting means at rest when the jectim means is operated, a power device normal y inactive and connected with the retractin means, means for setting the power device or o eration when the ejecting means is operate said retracting ,means operating while the e'ecting means is at rest, substantially as described.

8. In combination a casing, a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, ejecting means for ejecting the towel in sections beyond the casing, towel retracting means at rest when the ejecting means is operated, a power device normally inactive and connected with the retracting means, means for setting thepower device for o eration when the ejecting means is operate a detent for holding the power device, and releasing meansfor the detent, substantially as described. I a

9. In combination a casing, a continuous towel therein to be exposed in sections, ejecting means for ejecting the towel in sections beyond the casing, towel retracting means at rest when the ejecting means is operated,

a power device normally inactive and connected with the retracting means, connections between the ejectin means and the power device for setting the said device for operation when the ejecting means is operated, said retracting means operating while the ejecting means is at rest to withdraw the exposed part of the towel, substantially as described.

10. In combination towel ejecting means. towel retracting means, a spring connected with the towel retracting means, connections for placing said spring undertension, a detent for the retracting means, and a lost motion releasing device for the detent operative tln-rcagainst attcra period of movement of the parts has been accomplished, substantially as described.

11. In combination towel ejecting means, a driver therefor, towel retracting means, a

power device for the retracting means, a

drum to which the power device is connectcd, :1 gear wheel, a pawl and ratchet connec- \ice, means for releasing the gear detent.

and a connection between th'e 'drum and the ejector driver, substantially as described.

12. In combination towel ejecting means, towel retractmg means, a power device connected with the retracting means, a detent for the power device, and a device moved in onedirection when the ejector means is operated, said device, on its return. operating thedetent, substantially as described.

13. In combination a casing, a continuous towel therein, means for projecting successive intermediate portions of the towel and automatically operating means for withdrawing successiveportions of the towel after a period of use, the withdrawing movement following immediately the use of the towel to place the entire towel out of service after each use thereof, substantially as described.

14. Incombination in apparatus of the class described, a casing. a towel therein, means for projecting a portion of the towel through the casing for use, automatically ope 'ating means for retracting the used portion of the towel, and timing means controlling the retracting means whereby the projected portion of the towel will remain exposed for a definite period of time, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

- IRA L. PAR-K.

Vitnesses:

- T. E. M. FETHERSTONHAUGH,

HENRY E. COOPER. 

